Paranet
by Yrdenal
Summary: Harry Dresden is called to New York to help Elaine protect a small-time witch with what could be an infestation of goblins, or a visit from something much bigger and nastier. Oneshot, JarethxSarah, set before Changes.


There comes a time in a man's life when he simply wants to sleep in. The warmth of my bed was all that pulled me through, some days, because I knew no matter how hard work was, and how often I got my ass handed to me in a pretty little basket, my bed would always be there.

I was cocooned in my blankets, only the tip of my nose poking out, dreaming happy dreams about ice cream and other uninteresting things, when the phone rang. I groaned and rolled over, groping about for the phone.

"Dresden." I growled.

"I hope I didn't wake you, Harry," a familiar voice said in my ear.

"Elaine? Why are you calling at... what time is it? Where are you?" I blinked at my clock, but it was too dark to read.

"It's 8:30 in the morning in Newburgh, New York."

"So it's... obscenely early in Chicago. What's up?"

"I've gotten a tip through the Paranet, and I think I'm in over my head."

"O-kay... Explain." I sat up, giving up on sleep. Mouse, my oversized behemoth of a dog, nosed the door to the bedroom open and wandered in. I scratched him behind the ears for a moment, and he dropped his jaw in a sort of doggie grin.

"Well... Have you ever heard of the Goblin King?" Elaine's voice cracked on the last syllable.

I sputtered and fell directly out of bed. A little rush of fear ran through me, and for a moment I relived the summer I spent chasing around 'The Heirs of Kemmler.'

Mouse looked at me, and wagged his tail.

"Harry? Are you all right?" Elaine asked, the line crackling.

"Ah, yeah. Did you say Goblin King? As in...Erlkonig?"

"Yeah... Erlkonig. I think someone called him out up here."

"Jesus."

"Close, Harry. But not quite." Her attempt at humor failed, and the line cracked again. She was obviously upset.

"Ok, so why do you think someone was idiotic enough to call the Goblin King, leader of the Wild Hunt and one of the nastiest Wyldefae ever to northern New York?"

"I... ah, well. You'd have to meet her."

I blinked. "Her. As in, she hired you."

"Yes, she hired me to protect her from the Goblin King."

"Did she call him herself?" I shook my head in disbelief.

"Look, Harry, can you just... come check it out? I could really use your help."

"Yeah...sure. I think I know a Way to Albany, if you can come pick me up in a few hours."

"I know the one. I'll meet you at 12." A female voice spoke in the background, questioningly. "Listen, Harry, I gotta go."

The other line went dead.

"Great."

* * *

After a brief, bone-chilling shower, I stumbled my way to the kitchen for a Coke and a slice of cold pizza. I let Mister out, and filled both his and Mouse's food bowls. I ate the pizza methodically, alternating bites with dainty sips of Coke.

Caffeine is my lifeblood, what can I say?

I pulled up the door to the sub-basement, where my work station was located, and practically tripped down the stairs.

"Bob, wake up! I need to make some potions, and I need some advice." I said aloud, pointing at the skull on the shelf.

"Does this mean Murphy finally gave in? Do you have a date, Harry?"

I glowered at the skull. "No, Bob. I do not have a date, unless you count running to Elaine's rescue and possibly my own doom."

"Oh, what else is new? Rescue the girl, ride off into the sunset... _alone..."_

"Yeah, yeah..." I muttered under my breath.

"So, what are we rescuing her from?" The lights in Bob's skull burned brighter for a moment.

"You're not going to like this one, Bob. The Goblin King."

"You're right. I don't like this one."

"I think someone hired Elaine to protect her from the Wild Hunt."

"Oh, really? What gave you that idea?"

"Elaine sounded...scared. More scared than I've heard her in a while."

"Hellooooo, Earth to Harry!" Bob's lights whirled around the sockets of the skull for a moment, making me queasy. "No one ever calls you when they're happy, or excited, or feeling cheerful!"

Unfortunately, the skull had a point.

"Alright, Bob. What can you tell me about the Goblin King? Why would he have called the Wild Hunt on someone in New York?"

"Well, apart from the hunting, the Goblin King also does some other pretty bad things. Steal children, turn them into goblins, run people through his Labyrinth...:

While Bob listed a number of nasty things, I rummaged through my bins of ingredients. "Where did I put the ghost powder?"

"Top corner, rubber box, labeled 'pictures from high school'."

"Ghosts of the past, yeah. Go on, goblins, mazes..."

"Not just any maze. It's the Labyrinth, a part of the NeverNever that no mortal ever wants to see. You get a set time limit to run it- for whatever reason- and if you don't beat it, something bad happens."

"Bad as in...?" I set the first potion to boiling, adding in the last ingredients (ghost powder, for memory), and turned to listen.

"Bad as in Bad. Become a goblin. Lose the baby you wished away. Instead of your dreams, you get your nightmares. For the worst offenders, you simply get stuck there, forever."

"Has anyone ever beat the Labyrinth?"

"Oh, a few people. Paris was one. I think Mab dropped a potential Winter Knight in there, once. Some young girl a few years back."

"Wait. How long is a few years back?" An idea struck me.

"Hmm? Oh, I don't know. 15 years? Maybe?" Bob sounded thoughtful.

"Any chance that the Goblin King would call the Hunt on a winner?"

"Runner is the term. Failed Runner is for losers, but mostly he just eats them. Or so the legend goes. But... I suppose it's entirely possible. If she'd gotten under his skin, or pissed him off somehow."

Having seen the Erlking in a good mood, I was not willing to consider him on a bad day. He was terrifying then... who knows what he'd be like when really mad.

"Are there different kinds of hunts?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"Well, sure. Back in the Dark Ages, village toughs would call down the Wild Hunt to help them steal a bride from the neighboring village. And sometimes countries at war would call them down to help with a battle. Made it interesting when two kings tried to do it at the same time."

"What happened?"

"No more king. No more war. Just...boom."

"Must have been a bad day."

"Yeah."

I stirred the first potion, and got started on the second.

"So, you're really gonna go toe-to-toe with this guy again, Harry?" Bob asked.

"Maybe." I grunted.

"Want my real advice?"

I sighed. "Sure, Bob."

"Stay away from the Bog."

I blinked.

"That's it? Stay away from the Bog? What does that even mean?"

"Oh, you'll know."

* * *

The Goblin's Den was a little establishment in the middle of town. From the outside, it looked like a bar: it had smokey windows, a hand painted sign with what looked like a beer mug, and a cheerful little bell hung over the door to announce customers. Most people regarded it as a curiosity, but it had an aura of 'ignore me' that I found intriguing. It had a small clientele of eccentrics- older women in long, draping skirts, balding men with stacks of books no one had ever read, or even heard of, and curious individuals in shapeless jackets and hats pulled down over their eyes. They came in for the drinks, and stayed for the air of camaraderie. It was the center of the occult communities in upstate New York, and it was ran by a woman with green eyes that had seen far more than she admitted.

I sat at a table in the corner, just below a large piece of paper tacked to the wall. 'Accorded Neutral Ground.' The tables were old, and of varying shapes and sizes, with random numbers of chairs at each one. There was a small white candle in the center of each table, but that was about it as far as decorations went. Elaine, who was the whole reason I was here, had disappeared in the back with a tall red-headed woman for some reason or another, leaving me to stare at the woman behind the bar.

Presumably, she was the client, although no one had said as much to me. She had a long curtain of glossy black hair, swept back over one shoulder as she wiped down the bar. Her skin was pale and creamy, and for a moment I got lost in thinking about what that skin would feel like. She looked up at me, a smile on her face, and I noticed how large her eyes were.

"It's a rather unusual color, for eyes." Elaine said, from my left. I jumped, and then tried to pretend like I hadn't been staring at the woman.

"You're rather obvious, Harry. Your eyes were glazed over, and your thoughts were along the lines of 'strawberries and cream'." She laughed, and sat down. Mouse, who had been sitting quietly at my side, wagged his tail and put his enormous head in her lap.

"So what am I doing here, Elaine?" I finally asked, after picking up the shattered pieces of my dignity.

"The woman you were ogling is Sarah Williams. She's a practitioner. She runs this place- it's a bar, but also they keep books, and other random goods for the locals."

I nodded. "Ok. So what's the story?"

"There's an infestation of goblins. The whole building is covered in them."

"Real goblins, or just pixies pretending?"

"They're real enough, but they're on the lower end of the intelligence scale. Harmless, idiotic, and cute." Elaine looked over one shoulder at Sarah. She was watching us.

"So why is this a problem?"

"Sarah thinks that the Goblin King is going to set the Wild Hunt on her soon."

"Why? Does she have a reason?" There was a muffled sound from my backpack, but I just jabbed my finger at it and ignored it.

"She won't tell me."

Sarah stepped out from behind the bar, and made her slow way towards our table. The red-headed woman took her place, and served a beer to the next patron. The closer Sarah got, the more detail I got. She was tall, for a woman. 5'9", maybe. Her hair was long enough to reach her waist. She was curvy, her hips a little wider than what was probably in these days, her waist not as narrow as it could have been. All the same, she was quite intriguing, with a sort of sad, otherworldly air about her. She took the third chair at the table, and I noticed as she reached out, she had a small tattoo on the inside of her left wrist. It looked like a crown over a strange set of horns.

"Mr. Dresden, I presume," she said, her voice low and quiet.

"Uhhh, yeah. That's me!" Harry Dresden, master conversationalist.

"I am so glad Elaine convinced you to come to help me. When I found her through the Paranet... well, one seizes any hope one can." Her voice took a bitter tone.

"I'm glad the Paranet is working, honestly. It's saved a lot of trouble for the White Council."

"Ah, yes, that's right. Elaine was telling me you've recently become a Warden."

"Soon they'll be letting anyone in, hehe." A lame joke, and I knew it. Hell's bells, what was wrong with me?

Elaine was staring at me, a strange smirk on her face.

I cleared my throat. "So, Ms. Williams..."

She interrupted me. "Please, call me Sarah."

I nodded, and continued. "So, Sarah, what makes you think that you're in trouble?"

"Well, Mr. Dresden, the goblins had never really bothered me before... until one of them let slip that the King was up to something." She stated, not quite meeting my eyes in a manner that only true practitioners mastered. She was avoiding a soul-gaze.

"Wait. Do you mean that the goblins were...living here... peacefully?"

"That's exactly what I mean. They follow me wherever I go, Mr. Dresden."

A quiet giggle sounded from behind me, and I turned to look at where it came from. I, Harry the Genius, stared at the wall accusingly.

"The wall giggled." Elaine said for me.

"Good to know I haven't lost my mind yet."

"They like to live in the walls, actually," Sarah said with a small smile. "I think there must be a portal to their home somewhere nearby."

"So why do the goblins follow you?"

"I bested their master many years ago, and so he likes to keep an eye on me."

"So you beat the Labyrinth? Is that what you're saying?" I had to say it out loud, so Bob (who was, naturally, stashed in the backpack) could hear my confirmation.

Sarah's eyes widened, and the tattoo on her wrist flared a brilliant white for a moment. Elaine and I leaned away from the light, but Sarah merely looked down on it, her face suddenly annoyed. "Yes. I beat the Labyrinth. And now he will not _leave me alone!_"

The ceiling fan above us sort of fizzled, and a tiny puff of smoke emerged.

Sarah had the grace to look sheepish. "I'm so sorry, I usually have better control..." She stood up rather abruptly. "Excuse me, I need a bit of fresh air."

I refrained from examining her closely as she walked away. Elaine watched me with bemused eyes.

"She's got some striking similarities to another lovely lady I know," I said.

"Such as?" Elaine asked.

"She's got more power than she's letting on. And that is one wacky tattoo."

"I don't have any...Oh. No, I understand what you mean."

"I'll bet lunch that the tattoo has something to do with our bad guy," I said, thoughtfully.

Elaine looked at me from under raised eyebrows. "I never bet on a sure thing."

My stomach rumbled audibly, and Mouse looked up at me. "So, is the food here good?"

* * *

The redhead, I learned, was an Irish immigrant with a quick hand in the kitchen. She quickly dished us up some stew that she proudly announce was handmade, organic, and possibly the most delicious thing I've ever put into my mouth. Her name was Beth, and she was Sarah's cousin.

"Aye, Sarah and I are distant cousins, it's true. But I feel closer to her than my own sisters and brothers, I do! That's why I came halfway around the world when she called."

"Did she call you to help with the shop?" I asked around a mouthful of delicious.

"Well, she called me to help her when she first noticed the Goblin King sniffing around again. I've a deft hand when it comes to situations like that. Even got asked to join the White Council, but I turned the fools down flat."

Elaine snickered, and Beth turned her chocolatey brown eyes from me to her.

"Problems?"

"No, actually. I share your opinion of the White Council, but Harry here is a Warden." Elaine said with a smile.

Beth looked at me, and her expression was calculating. Still, she said nothing.

"I'm sure they'll kick me off eventually."

Beth made a non-committal noise, and excused herself to go help another customer.

"So, Beth is a practitioner as well. I'm betting both of them are well trained, Warden-level powers."

"With a blatant disregard for authority. Harry, you must be in love!" Elaine grinned, but I only shook my head.

Her expression turned serious. "Something isn't right, here. We're not being told everything."

"No, we're not. I'm wondering if we're being set up."

Sarah chose that moment to step back inside, letting some of the cool fall air in with her. Back in Chicago, it's still be in the 70s, but in Northern New York the temperature was edging the 50s. I was glad for the protective warmth of my leather coat.

Sarah made her way back to our table, and this time I didn't find the view nearly as attractive. I looked at her and I saw a woman who was scared, and who was hiding things, and might possibly be lying through her teeth. There were a few was I could find out the truth. I went for option number one. I took a deep breath and opened the Sight. What I saw was one of the more interesting, if confusing, things I have run across.

Sarah was bisected by a straight black line. On the left half, her skin was a pale gold, her hair as black as midnight. Her left eye was like liquid emerald. Half of a feral, silver crown sat on her head. In short, she looked like a faerie princess- or what every little girl thought a faerie princess should look like- on the left. (Having met a few faerie princesses, I knew otherwise that they were not half as gracious, beautiful, or kind looking. They tended to look more...modern, and a hell of a lot more scarey.) Her right side was aged, wrinkled, and white hair was liberally sprinkled amongst the black. Her right eye was faded, and closer to hazel than green in color. She looked older, and decidedly human.

I hurriedly closed my third eye as she joined us at the table. Elaine murmured some pleasantries, and Sarah returned in kind. I adjusted my mindset, trying to recover from the sensory overload that is the Sight, as they played nice.

Finally the world shifted back into place. I looked up at Sarah, perfectly normal Sarah, and cleared my throat. "You're not telling us something."

She blinked.

Elaine coughed. "Harry? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, but I need Sarah here to tell me what she's hiding. We can't protect her if we don't know what we're up against."

Sarah bowed her head, and suddenly I felt very rude. A single tear slid down her cheek, and Elaine kicked me under the table. Mouse chuffed, and rubbed his head against Sarah's arm.

"I can't explain it to you, Mr. Dresden," She looked up, and the expression on her face was incredibly bitter. "But I can show you."

I met her eyes. The soulgaze began almost instantly.

Sarah, a much younger version, stood in a room with a white crib. A towering figure stood before her, and although I couldn't see his face, I instinctively recognized the Goblin King. Sarah looked at him with an expression of fear, mingled with intrigue, and something unfamiliar. Desire? Confusion? It was hard to tell. The Erlking reached out a gloved hand, and offered her a crystal. She shook her head no, and the scene dissolved. She was older this time, perhaps 20, and the Goblin King knelt before her with another crystal. She reached out with her left hand, touched it, and gasped. The tattoo appeared on her left wrist, suddenly. The scene faded as she cradled her arm to her chest. Sarah appeared for a third time, looking as she did now, running through a forest. The Erlking chased her, and again I could not see his face. There was no menace in this chase, though. It was the lazy chase of lovers in time. She played coy, and hid behind trees, and he pretended to lose her. As they finally tumbled together, the tattoo flashed a brilliant white, and washed everything else out.

All in all, a few seconds passed. Soulgazes never last long, never more than a few moments. It just allowed you to glimpse into a person's inner being, and allowed that person the same luxory with you. Once you shared one with a person, you never could again. Sarah looked at me with a new respect, and a distant fear, but I didn't have the heart to ask her what she had seen.

"Harry?" Elaine asked, from a million miles away.

"Does the Erlking, the Goblin court, operate like Summer and Winter?" I asked. Elaine shrugged, but Bob, whom the question is for, vibrated in the bag by my feet.

"No. No, they don't, Mr. Dresden." Sarah answered for me. "But it is very similar, the power he gave me. I am closest in kin to a Knight. Perhaps, you could call me a Knight of the Goblins."

"He didn't offer you the power so you could be his knight. He wanted you to be his queen."

"The only way the Erlking, as you called him, can choose a bride is through the Wild Hunt." Sarah shuddered.

Suddenly, I understood. The Wild Hunt may have only been about the 5th or 6th most scary thing I could think of, but to someone who hadn't been around the block like I had, it was horrifying. "You're afraid of it."

"Jareth... The Goblin King is confident I will come out alive, and sane, and for the better. I do not share his confidence. That was why he gave me the mantle of power. I refused the offer initially, but the fae drive a hard bargain."

Elaine raised her eyebrows at the slip of a name. Names have power, and obviously Sarah did not realize the magnitude of knowing a mighty faerie's name. Lea, my own godmother, had used the equivalent of a 'Jane Doe' name to protect that power.

"He gave you the power to protect you during the hunt." I said.

"Yes. But then he never told me when it would be, and so I thought he had changed his mind. Maybe he liked it this way, you know? I live here, close to one of his favorite places, and we...spend time together, but I'm no one's queen. And I'm not trapped." Sarah said the last part as if it were incredibly important. I could relate.

Beside me, Mouse let out a low rumble of a growl. I turned to look at him, but his eyes were fixated on the door.

"Excuse me a moment," I said, and reached into my bag. I pulled the skull out and sat it on the table, eyes towards me. Elaine opened her mouth to say anything, but I held up a hand. "Later, Elaine. What's going on, Bob?"

"It's late. It's the full moon. You're here with the target of the Wild Hunt. Put 1 and 1 together, Harry." Orange flashed in the eyes. "The Hunt has started, and it's headed our way."

The wall behind me giggled. I glared at it, and then stood up. With a quick motion I shoved Bob back into the bag and reached in to draw out my blasting rod.

"You're lucky I came armed for bear."

"This isn't a bear hunt, Harry. It's a bride hunt. And we're not exactly in the position to be dealing with wyldefae." Elaine said, exasperated. However, I did note she was pulling out her own implements for a fight.

Surprisingly, Sarah did the same. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a massive silver bracelet, designed along the same lines as my rings that I now wore on almost every finger. After the bracelet came a stubby little wand, made out of something like redwood. She mumbled something under her breath and the wand elongated into a slender stripe of red, with what looked like gaelic lettering carved into it in curving lines.

"Nice trick." I said, impressed.

"The Erlking taught me." She said, eyebrows raised.

"More useful than anything I learned at the Summer Court, I think," Elaine said. Sarah looked at her with something akin to surprise.

"You spent time in Summer?"

"I'd rather not talk about it, but yes."

"And I can see the marks of Winter on Harry."

Hell's Bells, was it that obvious? I had no idea people could look at me and see that I had tangoed with a few faeries, and ended up as Mab's favorite playtoy. She offered me the Mantle of the Winter Knight about once every six months or so, and the offer was still open even now.

"Summer and Winter here to defend me. Maybe I can pull this off." She turned around, looking at the few remaining patrons in the bar.

"We're closing up early, folks. I suggest you get behind a threshold soon." She met eyes with a few people, and they got up and shuffled out the door.

Beth came around the corner of the bar, a stern look on her face. "Sarah, is it time?"

Sarah nodded, her mouth pressed in a thin line.

"I'd best go get my things, then," Beth said, and went into what I had assumed with a storage closet. She returned after a moment, holding an amazing piece of work. It was a cast iron staff, twisted and delicate. A large red crystal sat nestled in a bed of twisting, vaguely snake-like, iron protrusions. I whistled in appreciation.

"Thank you, Warden Dresden. My family have long worked against the courts of the Fae, and I'm honored to protect Fair Sarah." Beth's tone was oddly formal.

I looked at her for a moment. I wasn't really sure what to say to such a statement, especially given the White Council's stance on the faerie courts.

Mouse let out a little whine. The smokey window at the front of the bar was difficult to see through, but it wasn't hard to tell the wind was picking up speed. The trees that lined the dainty little street were whipping about, shedding leaves. There was no one visible outside, human or otherwise.

"Fine. Are we going to stay here? Or is there someplace else we need to go to? You know, where you keep the rest of your magical goon squad?" I asked. I was beginning to feel more and more like I had been played.

"I have more protections woven into this location than any other I have ever stayed. Even so, I'm not sure that they'll last."

"I don't think that-" I had wanted to argue with her, but Elaine interrupted me.

"Is the Goblin court a signatory to the Accords?"

"I don't think so." I answered. "But in all truthfulness, I actually have no idea. And if Johnnny Marcone and the Denarians can become signatories, it's possible the Erlking could as well."

"I don't think he agrees with the Accords. He's probably one of the few truly neutral powers left." Sarah interrupted. She was staring intently out the window as she spoke.

A tall figure stood at the window, wrapped in a shadow-black cloak. A shocking mop of wild blonde hair stood out in the moonlight, but his face was left in shadows. I could barely see the angular line of his jaw, until that faded into black as well. I was starting to get tired of cloaks and shadows and other bad-guy wardrobe choices. I raised a hand and waved, jovially, but the figure was not looking at me.

It raised a gloved hand to the window in an almost wistful motion. Sarah stepped forward to the glass, wand hanging down at her side, tears streaming silently down her face.

"I love you," she said to the figure. It stilled, and whispered something that, while audible through the glass and the door, was in a language that sounded to me like gargling.

Elaine moved up next to Sarah, and Beth was not far behind. The night swallowed up his shadows, and a loud howl erupted from somewhere nearby.

"What did he say, Sarah?" Beth asked.

"He said...'_I'm sorry._' " Her voice was throaty and sad, and brought tears to my own eyes. "He really means to go through with it."

"The hell he will! I will not let a member of my family go to be the plaything of some feudal overlord!" Beth erupted, and smoke belched forth from her staff in response to her anger.

Behind me, Elaine made a little sound of surprise. "I've just realized where I know you from, Beth. You're a Binder!"

"A what?" I asked.

"She's a member of a sect of Irishmen who live to basically interrupt the Faerie court's lives. Sort of magical terrorists. You'd get on great with them, Harry. Explosions and mayhem are their sort of playstyle."

"Aye, it's true. But everyone seems to think the worst of us. No one ever takes into account that we protect the weak. Or that we were formed because our own many-times ancestress was raped by a High Court faerie. They call us scum, and kick us. But they never stick around to see us stand toe-to-toe with the things they fear the most." Beth said, her voice thick with anger.

"Not everything Faerie touched is bad, or good. They're just a little twisted sometimes," Elaine said.

"Yeah, trust you to stick up for the faeries," I muttered under my breath. Elaine punched my arm lightly.

"Quiet!" Sarah interrupted. "I think I hear-"

She was cut off by a long, loud howl. It sounded like a wolf, and it sounded like it was close.

"They're here!" Beth shouted, and slammed her staff into the ground. "_D__óiteáin_!" Little tendrils of fire magic spread from her staff to the door and windows, and a huge curtain of flame erupted to cover the entrances. The first of the hunt slammed up against the fire, intent on breaking through.

"We can't protect ourselves here! We have to go!" Elaine shouted.

"Where? There isn't a back exit!" Sarah shouted back, over the sound of howls and screams. "_D__om a chosaint_!"

I felt a ward snap into place with Sarah's words. It was a strong ward, probably stronger than anything I could pull off on the fly. I would have commented on it, but I could feel the wards that had been in place before snap and break as the creatures of the hunt threw themselves against it. The original wards were strong, but with each impact they grew weaker, and finally broke.

I slammed my hands onto the table.

"Sarah, you're going to get us all killed!" I shouted. "Do you love him or not? Do you trust him?"

The plate glass at the front of the bar shattered. The only thing keeping the Hunt out was the one massive ward that Sarah had set into place.

"I love him! I trust him! It's the rest of the goddamned goblin court I can't stand! I...I'm afraid to lose myself!" She shouted back.

"_Ventas Servitas!" _I shouted, willing the tables away from me. It sort of resulted in a strange pile of tables and chairs in the corners, but the effect was generally what I had hoped for.

"Dammit, Sarah," I ran to her. She was on her knees, struggling to keep the ward in place. "I can't defend you from the entire hunt. Neither can Elaine, or Beth, even. You'll get us all killed!" I felt sick, but I knew what I needed to say.

"He gave you this power to defend yourself, to allow you to keep yourself whole. Use it!".

"I can't! I'm afraid!" She shouted.

"Sarah, don't let your fear of the Goblin filth distract you from your true purpose!" Beth added. She was standing with her hands braced on her staff, a red glow emanating from the crystal at the top. The flame ward continued to create a physical barrier to the hunt.

"This is chicken shit compared to what he can really do, Sarah!" I said. "So I know you can do more. Blow a hole through the window, let's make our way to Albany, and take the way."

"She is not going to Albany, Warden. She is coming with me to Ireland." Beth called out.

"What? No!" Sarah said, her concentration faltering. The ward dropped, and for a moment the only thing keeping the goblins out were the flames of Beth's creation. Several small creatures flew in.

"Ventas servitas! Get outta here, go!" I shouted, blasting power. I unleashed the power from one of my rings at another and sent it careening crazily out the broken glass window.

"Sarah, concentrate please!" Elaine said, as she hastily took care of a few more stragglers.

"Why would you want me to go home with you, Beth? I told you, I don't want to be a Binder!"

"Don't you see what your power could do for the Binders? With the mantle of the Erlking's power, we could take out anyone we needed to!" Beth shouted back to Sarah, her face illuminated by the flames. It had a rather terrifying effect.

"No! He gave me this power out of love and friendship. I will not see it abused so you can sell your morals out!" Sarah said, tears running down her face again.

"What's going on, Harry?" Elaine asked me.

"I'm not sure. The rest of the story, I think."

"Sarah, think! You'd be free of him forever! We could protect you!" Beth said. The flames of her power turned from a normal reddish orange to a darker, more blood-tinted red.

"That's not ominous!" I said to Elaine.

"Beth, no! I would rather spend the rest of my days as a slave to the Goblin Court than to betray the trust that Jareth has in me!"

"_NO!" _Beth pointed a finger at Sarah, and a wave of power knocked her to the ground. "If you can't take the power and do the right thing with it, cousin, I will."

I had a split second to notice that, with Sarah knocked to the ground, her concentration broke on the ward. And with Beth focusing entirely on Sarah, her fireward was down. I tried to lift my arm up, angling my shield bracelet up to protect Sarah and Elaine from what I knew was coming, but I was too slow.

I felt like I was moving through molasses. Beth was moving towards Sarah in slow motion, a string of hateful words falling from her lips as she went. Elaine had moved to try to protect Sarah too, her eyes wide in confusion at the sudden slowness of everything.

"Well, well well. What do we have here?" A cultured voice said. I slowly turned my head to the sound of the voice- the Erlkonig, in all his shadowy glory, stepped through the door.

"A Binder, trying to steal my power. Emissaries of Summer and Winter, trying to protect my bride. And Sarah, with cold feet." Hounds of shadowshapes followed him in, writhing and jumping around his feet with the desire to snap and kill something.

"Summer, Winter, I appreciate your willingness to help Sarah. Especially you, Warden, as you saw the trap before she did. So I'm willing to overlook the injury to my huntsmen for your protection of something so... precious."

I found I suddenly couldn't move.

"Sarah, my dear, surely you should have known better than to surround yourself with the traitorous Irish-men. Didn't you know they've the blood of faeires in their veins? They're deceitful to begin with." The Erlking stepped close to Beth.

"Hello, little girl. How would you like to meet my oubliettes?" He hissed at the redhead. She couldn't move, the same as me, but her eyes rolled in their sockets in obvious distress.

"Ah, yes. Exactly as I thought. But perhaps, a dip in the Bog of Eternal Stench, first?" He tapped her on the shoulder, and she was gone.

"Now, if you will excuse me, Winter, Summer, I have a wedding to attend. My own, as a matter of fact. So if you don't mind, I'll be taking your memories... and the last few hours of time... as a payment for not killing you simply _because I could._"

The Goblin King stopped on his way to Elaine and I, and pulled a crystal ball from nowhere. He tapped Sarah on the shoulder, and she looked up at him with relief in her eyes.

"Is it over, then?" She asked.

"Yes, my love, it is."

"Let's go, then."

The Goblin King lobbed the crystal at us with a practiced throw. I expected it to whack me on the head, at the least, but instead it exploded a mere inches away from us, showering us with glitter.

* * *

I was cocooned in my blankets, only the tip of my nose poking out, dreaming happy dreams about ice cream and other uninteresting things, when the phone rang. I groaned and rolled over, groping about for the phone.

"Dresden." I growled.

The line was dead. The ring must have been my imagination.

Mouse nosed the door open, looked at me with a strange, doggy smile, and woofed. It obviously meant, 'feed me.'

"Alright, alright..." I crawled out of bed. As I stumbled to the kitchen, I noticed there was glitter all over the floor.

"What in the world..." I said, but then decided I didn't really want to think about it too much.

* * *

Fin.


End file.
